American Academy of Pediatricians declares bumper pads dangerous

Infants are not only the most valuable thing in our lives, but they are also the most vulnerable. They cannot take care of themselves or understand their surroundings. Infants rely on their parents to take care of them and prevent harm from coming to them.

Even the most careful parent cannot protect their children from an unknown harm that could result from a dangerous or unsafe product. For years, bumper pads have been placed in infant cribs under the assumption that they helped prevent harm. The American Academy of Pediatricians declared bumper pads dangerous in their most recently published safety guidelines.

The safety guidelines provide instructions for creating a safe environment for infants as a way to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome or SIDS. The newest edition of the guidelines specifically states that bumper pads should not be used.

According to research, the bumper pads pose a strangulation and entrapment risk for infants that could and have led to death. A recent Tribune report investigated infant deaths in which bumper pads were suspected as the culprit. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has been accused of failing to fully investigate a number of deaths suggesting that bumper pads caused the fatality. The CPSC said that some investigations were inconclusive because there were other items found in the cribs.

A member of the academy’s task force who also works as a neonatologist in Pennsylvania said that bumper pads should not be used, but parents should also refrain from attempting to pad the crib with pillows or blankets. According to the neonatologist, “soft is just bad.”

Source: Fox News, “Crib Bumper Pads Cause Suffocation, Pediatricians Warn,” Oct. 18, 2011